


The Irony of Sisterhood and Distance

by SaraJaye



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: Computers, Crying, Family Feels, Gen, Hugs, Post-Canon, Sister-Sister Relationship, leaving for college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 01:03:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20219230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: It only figures that they'd start getting along and even bonding around the same time Janine was preparing to leave for college. Or, in which Claudia feels apprehensive as she helps Janine pack for Princeton and realizes how lonely it's going to be without her across the hall.





	The Irony of Sisterhood and Distance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lovelyflowersinherhair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyflowersinherhair/gifts).

"So tell me again _how_ you're supposed to fit eight years's worth of stuff onto that little thing?" It's no bigger than a fun size Milky Way, or even the totem pendant hanging from her necklace. Janine smirks, and Claudia hears whirring noises as the whatchamacallit slides into its slot.

"I won't bore you with the details of how data works," she says. "Just know that it's bigger on the inside than it is outside. Like the TARDIS on Doctor Who."

"Or Jeannie's bottle on I Dream of Jeannie?"

"Or that, yes." Janine clicks a few things and Claudia is almost fascinated as she watches this. Janine's trading up for a laptop; her faithful computer that's been with her since 5th grade is too big to pack up and move with her to Princeton, so she's giving the old one to some kid who just moved in down the block who takes old computer and game parts and uses them to make custom machines.

Claudia has no idea how something like that would even work, but Janine's apparently talked to the boy a few times and he's good at what he does.

"How old is he again?" she asks as Janine starts going through her books for the tenth time that afternoon. For her, deciding which books not to take is like Claudia trying to figure out which art supplies or outfits she doesn't need for a one-week vacation.

"Twelve. Too old for a babysitter," Janine says with a wink. Even after the BSC disbanded Claudia still babysits. It's just in her nature to do so, and she needs the extra money. Mom and Dad have been nudging her about finding a steady job next year, when she'll be old enough to get working papers and more places are likely to hire her.

She's thought about it, but admittedly not that much.

"Oh, well." She glances at the unusually messy room. Janine is usually neat as a pin, even when packing for vacations. But this isn't a vacation so much as moving to a whole other state to live for the next four or so years. Probably more, since knowing Janine she'll be going for her Masters right off the bat. Ten years, maybe. That's a long time to back for.

She listens to the clacking of the keys as Janine does whatever she needs to do with her computer and that drive thingie. For years she's listened to the keys clacking away down the hall, sometimes annoyed by it but other times comforted whenever Mom and Dad were out and it was storming, or during the ordeals with Mimi as she got sicker and sicker after her stroke.

Mom and Dad use computers, but their room is further away and they usually work in their office or the living room anyway. Once Janine leaves, she won't hear those clacking noises anymore and it'll be a relief. Nothing to distract her from her artwork or make her feel stupid as she tries to keep her grades at C level so Mom and Dad won't make her give up her art classes or her show on SHS's radio station.

"Remember when the Hatts moved in with us and Mom made you share your room?" Janine suddenly asks. "And you had to make room for this thing?" Claudia groans. How could she ever _forget?_

(She never did let Laura live down her nasty behavior, either. Especially now that she has braces and isn't allowed to have sweets, and Mom and Dad _finally_ stopped trying to monitor Claudia's own diet because if she was going to get fat and sick and pimply from all that candy she would have years ago. Claudia knows she's being petty, but she doesn't care.)

"If they ever made us share if you visited home again, you'd be fine moving your laptop in," she laughs. A little pang of something strikes her just then. _Visiting home._ She already knows Janine has plans to be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas this winter, but just for this year. Will she always come home? What if she decides she likes New Jersey too much and spends the holidays there, with whoever her roommate is or whatever new friends she makes? Or she falls in love and elopes with someone like Sam Thomas did with his old high school crush Monique, and goes to France for the next two years?

_Get real, Claud, this is Janine we're talking about,_ she thinks. _She'd never do something so impulsive. She broke up with Jerry because he was going to a school three states away from her, for crying out loud._

And family's important to Janine, especially ever since Mimi died. She'd never forget them no matter how much she loved studying.

Claudia helps Janine go through all her boring clothes, with Janine offering her several old blouses and skirts she's outgrown. Claudia once said she'd rather pay out the nose for her outfits than wear Janine's stuff, but lately the Office Lady look is making a comeback. Plus, Mom and Dad will want her to have a nice, tidy outfit or two for job interviews in the future.

(And she can always spice them up with pins or ribbons or buttons. The tan blouse Janine's showing her right now has some real potential.)

They talk about random memories and silly things all the while. What new words little Lynn is learning to say, or something silly one of Claudia's classmates did, or some movie that's coming out. Actually, there's a movie version of one of Janine's books due out before she leaves, and Claudia's tempted to ask if she wants to see it together.

Claudia usually hates watching movies with Janine, especially book-based ones. All Janine does is nitpick every change, go off on tangents about how the book was so much better, lament at how the author must feel about it. Claudia still refuses to watch either Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie with her to this day.

_But we don't have a lot of time left to hang out,_ she thinks. Not that they ever cared about hanging out much, but for some reason Claudia wants to do at least a few things with her before she leaves.

The pang grows stronger, and there's a knot forming in her stomach.

_Get a grip, Claud. She's going to New Jersey, not to Mars. She doesn't even need to take a plane there, it's just a few hours by car or train._

But it's not the distance. It's the fact that someone she's lived just down the hall from for the last fifteen years is _leaving,_ period. Janine got her acceptance letter months ago and it's just now sinking in that she's _not going to be right across the hall anymore._

They've never been the best of friends, especially when they were younger. Janine was stuck up and fussy, and Claudia's willing to admit that she _was_ a brat when she was thirteen, even if she still believes she was justified in her upset. They argued, they barely had anything in common, each of them acting like the other one existed just to make her life miserable. Janine's computer clacking away while Claudia was trying to work on a painting, or the BSC meetings getting giggly and loud while Janine was trying to study. Fighting for their parents' favor.

But when things got rough, Janine was _there._ When Mimi had her stroke and they had to work together even though they were in a fight. When Mimi _died_ and Janine would leave her computer alone for hours just to be with the family, or make sandwiches and milkshakes with Claudia and Corrie Addison. When Peaches lost her baby, when Dad got really sick with the flu and had to be in the hospital last year. When Hurricane Karen hit Stoneybrook and Janine didn't mention her computer _once_ and kept Claudia from rushing out into the storm to find Mom when she was late coming back from work.

Janine was her _sister_ and it's just _too weird_ to think about her not being right down the hall from her. Kristy had warned her this might happen when Janine started getting ready for college, but Claudia had only half-listened. Kristy and her brothers were always so close, of course she'd tear up when Charlie and then Sam left.

Claudia knew it would be a big change, but she hadn't expected to anticipate _missing_ Janine so much, and Janine hasn't even left yet.

"-socks," Janine is saying, and Claudia snaps back to the present.

"Huh?" Janine frowns.

"Have you even been _listening?_"

"Yeah..." Claudia lies. "I was just-thinking, that's it. About-Nancy Drew, and-"

"Claudia." Janine puts a hand on her shoulder. Janine rarely if ever touches anyone beyond hugs or handshakes, and it's even rarer that she initiates. "What's wrong?" And Claudia winces. Leave it to a genius big sister to catch on right away.

"You're leaving." Might as well just get it out there. "You're leaving, it's just gonna be me and Mom and Dad for another few years, and I dunno how I'll sleep or get any art done without the constant clacking across the hall!" Now that it's out there, she feels silly and she's sure Janine will _tell her_ how silly she's being.

But Janine hugs her, and maybe it's Claudia's imagination but she's shaking a little.

"Do you think I haven't been overcome with similar thoughts myself?" she asks. "Imagining my life without the noise of your popular music, cartoons, and television dramas? Seeing your paint rags tossed so carelessly atop the rest of the towels? Hearing your friends and their mirth across the hall whenever you have sleepovers?"

Claudia doesn't cry easily, she never has. But hearing Janine say that sends the tears spilling over and she's so embarrassed, hugging her sister tight and laugh-crying into her shoulder. Then Janine's crying, too, and Claudia feels like she's doing a re-enactment of _Little Women_ or _Sense and Sensibility_ or some other mushy movie about sisters Mary Anne can't get enough of every time she's really missing Dawn.

But it feels _good_ to finally get it out there, she can't deny that. And she feels dumber than usual for not thinking about how Janine might be feeling, too.

(Then again, Janine can be stingy when it comes to opening up about her feelings anyway.)

"Boy, look at us," Claudia laughs when she finally finds her voice. "I wonder if Mom and Peaches were like this when Mom had to leave for college."

"My guess is, they were. Mom and Peaches were always closer than we were," Janine says. "Our connection fades in and out, much like the internet access point on a cellular phone in the train station. Er, that is-"

"No translation needed." Claudia snorts. "I know what you mean because replace train station with airport, and I've _been_ there." Janine smiles.

"My point is, you and I only started to get close very recently." She sighs. "I know I'll always be able to visit home, and I know you three will come visit me often enough. But..."

"But it's not the same as annoying each other from across the hall," Claudia finishes. "But hey, you're going up there about a week before school starts, so maybe I can stay a while? Help you decorate your dorm?" Janine winces.

"You're welcome to stay, but I'd rather not risk distraction where I'm supposed to be studying."

"Oh, well." Claudia's not even sure why she suggested it. A person's room should reflect who they are, after all. Though she is starting to get an idea. "And you're not leaving for another month, too. So...maybe we could see a movie or something? Or a play if that's more your thing."

"I'm sure we'll find some way to spend time together before I depart," Janine assures her. "Now, about these socks..."

The rest of the afternoon flies by as they pack up half of Janine's room, and that night Claudia gets to work on a special secret art project.

They drive Janine up to Princeton the last week of August. By that point, Claudia's slowly gotten used to the prospect of quiet across the hall, and Janine has even offered to let her use her room as storage for her supplies. "I can always sleep on the couch or in Mimi's old room if I visit," she's said.

Claudia's seriously considering the offer, but she's in no rush.

The sun's setting when they get there and collect Janine's room keys. She's going to have a roommate, and she's already mapped out the floor plans and how much space she'll be entitled to. Luckily, the room's fairly big.

They get Janine's stuff all sorted out quickly, and then it's time to go home. Mom and Dad go out to the car, but Claudia stays behind a moment to take something out of her bag.

"Janine, hold up a sec."

"Oh?" And Janine's eyes widen as Claudia reveals her special secret art project. It's nothing revolutionary, just a collage of photos their parents and Mimi took of them as kids, including one of them in kimonos for Mimi's last birthday celebration. But it took Claudia a long time to make copies of those pictures and to make a custom frame. It's a bit funky, admittedly more her style than Janine's on purpose.

Janine seems to get it, and the reason why. She smiles broadly as she hangs it on the poster hooks Dad put on the wall earlier.

"Anytime I feel homesick, I'll just look at this. It's wonderful, Claudia."

They share a warm hug, Claudia blinking back tears.

"Have a great semester," she says.

"You too, sis," Janine replies. Claudia smiles as she hurries out to the car, where Mom and Dad are waiting. Her own copy of the collage hangs in her room, and she'll look at it for a long time tonight before she goes to bed.


End file.
